Horizons & Purdue Promise Study Ablog! : Laura Garcia

Today was such an eventful day!! It began yesterday at 7:30 in the morning with a bus picking us up at Purdue and heading to the Chicago O’Hare airport. Our first stop was an hour and a half flight into Boston. The flight was short and sweet. Waiting for the international flight out of Boston was the hardest. We were all so anxious because we were just so exited to get to Spain.

We finally made it to the gloomy but beautiful city of Madrid around 7:30 in the morning after a seven-hour fight. Once again we were lucky to not experience any problems and arrived safely. A friendly tour guide, Angel Garzon, greeted us; he welcomed us to Spain and was really excited to be a part of our study abroad experience. We hopped on a charter bus and headed to our hotel. He briefed us on where we were staying and what the plan was for the rest of the day.

After having several hours to relax, get food, and explore the city for a little, Angel held an orientation session. During this session we learned about the history of Spain, its customs, and safety precautions. Angel told us countless fun facts. Some of Spain’s fun facts included having a population of over 47 million people and being the size of Texas. Spain’s official language is Spanish Castillian but the country has 5 different languages that are spoken throughout different the different regions of Spain. The country has a Constitutional Monarchy meaning they have a prime minster and a king. Their current king is Felipe VI and their Prime Minster is Mariano Rajoy. Precaution tips mentioned were; while in the city, especially Madrid it is important to stick together, not wonder out at night alone, and be aware of people that pickpockets.

After the very informational session we had a welcome dinner. We traveled through the metro to get to downtown. The metro is similar to the subway system in the United States. Downtown Madrid was amazing! The pictures I was taking could not even begin to justify the beauty of the city and the aliveness of its people. The welcome dinner was located in the center of downtown Madrid. The restaurant was beautiful and the cuisine was delicious. Dinner consisted of an appetizer, main course, and dessert. We took the opportunity to taste the different options by having each of us from the table order different food and drinks, and allowing everyone to taste it. Overall it was a day filled with adventure and excitement and I cannot wait to see what tomorrow has in store!